7-Eleven SpeakOut’s move from its old 3G service to a new 4G VoLTE network has been anything but smooth, according to frustrated customers who shared their experiences with iPhone in Canada. The transition is happening because telecoms are shutting down 3G networks, including Rogers.
Subscribers are being forced to switch to new SIM cards to keep their numbers active, but the process has been plagued with errors, confusion, and poor communication. John, a SpeakOut user, said he ran into problems right away. “I attempted to install my new SIM card yesterday, with no luck. I got as far as entering 4 digit PIN number. Error pop up appeared,” he wrote. After retrying the next day, his SIM finally activated — but he’s still waiting for confirmation that his number is linked.
Others haven’t been as lucky. Sarah, another longtime customer, said the switch has been “an expensive total pain in the a*s,” adding that she could never reach customer service. After months of trying, she gave up and moved her service to Lucky Mobile, only to discover the network didn’t work at her home in Coquitlam, B.C. “So now I am trying to get setup with Fido, since they are on the only network that I can use at home, which is unfortunately the Rogers network. For many valid reasons, I hate Rogers,” she said.
Technical glitches have added to the frustration. Some customers reported that their replacement SIM cards had only 19-digit ICCID numbers, while the SpeakOut website demanded 20 digits for activation. Others noted that even when activation worked, existing balances were automatically rolled into one of SpeakOut’s new 30-day prepaid plans, which cost between $19 and $47 per cycle. The once-popular $25 plan is gone, leaving fewer choices.
One customer summed up the rollout bluntly: “This absolutely sucks and I’m willing to join a class action lawsuit if one is available. SpeakOut and Rogers is absolutely horrible with this rollout change with no clear indication what they’re doing.”
While SpeakOut has told customers by email that it is not shutting down, subscribers say the lack of clear instructions, dropped support calls, and removal of long-time plan options has left them scrambling. Some stores started offering free migration SIMs on September 8, but users outside city centres complain they haven’t been told how to get one mailed.
The deadline for completing the switch is being noted as by October 31 to migrate before losing their numbers.
I can’t imagine the headache in trying to deal with this transition that’s a huge SNAFU. I would immediately switch over to another carrier. How’s your transition with SpeakOut going right now?
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After messing about with SIMs for a bit I switched my two phones over entirely to pre-paid 1-year plans with Freedom Mobile. To avoid more annoyances I decided to just abandon my old numbers and just accept new ones. I probably lost $60 to 7-Eleven Speakout balances.
On the plus side, Freedom Mobile 1-year pre-paid costs less overall per month than Speakout ever did. I don't need any more data and the voice and texts is unlimited. I wish I'd researched that before.
Thats 129$ a year, many of us just had for emergency 25$ a year
this reply is a bit late, but figure it out, over a year it’s $12 a month, supporting dtrumpf is your biggest mistake!!!
Somebody needs to tell that Coquitlam resident that they need to look for a carrier that supports wifi calling, and not having reception at home isn’t a big deal relative to having it away from home. Wifi calling solves that.
They took my once yearly 25$ top up in early Sept without telling me that the pay as you go was being eliminated, in fact the website is still accepting top ups, nowhere does it state that the 25 $ pay as you go 365 day is ending
Exactly what happened to me.
It's been a total clusterfrack. I only keep my Speakout number as an emergency phone for SMS validations and registrations for certain services; I doubt I use more than 10 minutes a year on it.. It's got $80 credit in it, and it's good until December 25th. I see the option to top up, and the micro-sim in my existing 3g phone won't fit in the 4g phone which only takes nano-sims, so I had them send me one.
When I got the sim, it had only a 19 digit ICCID number, so it can't be used. Calling the support number just gives a "we'reextremely busy, please call back later" message, and then it disconnects; you can't even leave a message. The web site lets you leave a message, which I did, but they recommend you phone the support number.
I suspected, but didn't know for sure that the 365 day expiry has been discontinued. Their web site is incredibly evasive about legacy customers.
I wish I'd know about that before getting the replacement sim. It was free, but there's $4.50 in shipping and handling spent for no reason.
I can't see re-upping with Speakout for a low-usage phone. I got a Fongo wifi number, and switched all of the services that had the Speakout number to Fongo. I guess I'll just let the Speakout number expired and be done with them.
Some months I need a high level of communication but by default I do not, so Speakout was uniquely perfect for that, even though their website is simplified to such an extreme it is an escape room puzzle.
Others say the compelling $25/365 rollover is now gone – I'm not surprised.
Month's of warnings about GSM ending were lost on me as I had an LTE capable phone. Then they cut me off and stole my balance, based on my SIM ID. Then they deleted my post office box from my replacement SIM shipping address.
First the customer support phone # vanished, then support chat vanished. Now there is only a noreply email address. It's a dying business. I'm just not poor enough to tolerate the effective abuse. Buyer beware.
We got through the migration with great difficulty. But now, money is unaccountably disappearing from our accounts such that we are getting messages to top up because there aren’t enough funds to renew. There’s no transaction listing in the online system, so you can’t see what’s happening.
I got through to them on the phone. Boy, what a mess. They said the rules have changed and they are in the process of updating the web site. Apparently balance expiry is now 90 days instead of 365 on all top-ups since sometime last December, I forget the exact date, and the $19 plan actually costs $24.40. They did restore enough funds for this month’s renewal, without explaining exactly what went wrong. There should have been enough for two months. The explanations did not fully cover everything that has happened to my and my partner’s account. The phone system on Customer Service still says that all top-ups are 365 days. Bad situation.
Hi Folks My name is Claude, and just like all of you, Speak out conned me as well. My wife and I joined the pay as you go plan back in the Covid days in 2020. Never needed a cell phone, but had to get one because we had to call our vet from their parking lot, to get into the building for an appointment. Long story short!! Same boat as a lot of you. I filled a complaint with CCTS back in September last year, it was accepted, Speak out were given 20 days to respond, then the CCTS extended that tie frame. I wrote back to CCTS advising their extension gave me one day before Speak out would take my account balance and drop my phone number. A complaint office took over, and I didn’t hear anything back for weeks. Finally heard back, and again after weeks, my complaint was denied. I rejected the CCTS denial with cause, because of Speak out’s multiple Regulatory Policy violations as mandated by the CRTC, and in which the CCTS are supposed to uphold. KEY WORD HERE is “supposed”. CCTS sided with Speak out in their faulty denial of claim, so now after six months of back and forth with CCTS,
another resolution (arbitration) officer takes over for reconciliation. After six plus months, no resolve, and wait for the tax paid foot draggers to do their job. A class action lawsuit has to be started against Speak out, so that the hundreds of Canadians that have been taken to the cleaners, get their money back, and show the rest of Canadians, where their tax dollars have failed us in the ineptitude of thee agencies that supposed to protect consumers.
This might be a bit late for a lot of folks that have been taken to the cleaners by Speakout. I finally just got another email from CCTS, and they have assigned another resolution officer to the complaint mentioned in my last post. Here we go again!! This time it’s no different from the last time, do a documentation review, speak with both parties and make a decision. Well, 10 months have gone by, after the initial complaint filing, so now we wait another year for the same decision? Because that’s what I took as the message from the new agent. I’m not too sure why our beloved government has the CRTC, and now the CCTS, supposedly working for all of us lowly working stiffs. The CRTC was also supposed to run the now “INFAMOUS DO NOT CALL LIST”, as well, and look where that got us. Yup, register your phone number, and those prank and scam artist calls will stop. Wonder whose brilliant idea that was, because the calls got worse. A cell phone service provider wants more profit, so change the plans and rules, and the sheep will follow. However, the government agency, supported by our tax dollars, that is supposed to have our backs, sides with the corporate behemoths. It’s no damned wonder that our tax paid per capita family taxes have risen over 2,000 per cent since 1961, second only to over 800% increase on the food we eat. Published fact, folks. Our government has the largest work force in Canada, with multiple agencies doing the same thing. It’s no wonder it takes an eternity to get stuff done.
I will update as I get answers. Keep a stiff upper lip, we’re all gonna need it. Stay happy, healthy and safe
My account balance of $188 was wiped out on/before March 5, 2026 (received a text on Mar. 5). Unable to get through to Speakout because I am unable to get through their phone line. My phone is out of service since March 8, 2026. I woke up at 6am PST this morning and called SO and after 35 minutes of waiting, I finally got through. At first, the agent told me my balance has expired, but after I showing them (over the phone) with the proof of payment/top up, text from Speakout in Feb. 2026 with my balance and an email from speakout email support that there is NO expiration date after the ROGERS to TELUS migration, the balance will run down on my $19 monthly plan. The agent puts me on hold for another 20 minutes, then came back and told me it was a mistake TELUS made from the Feb. 18, 2026 audit. A ticket has been created and submitted to reinstate my account balance, but it may not be the whole amount as he has seen with other customers, could be $25 or $50. The SO agent asked me to call back again if I don’t get the full account balance back in 3-5 business days so they can create a new ticket and ask for a full refund. SO is bad, but it seems that TELUS is worse, Telus is actively deleting account balance from SO customer’s accounts.
THERE’S ONE ANSWER TO THIS ENTIRE FIASCO, AND THAT IS A CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT. ANY TAKERS???
My complaint, which had to be addressed by the CCTS agency according to the CRTC is going to be a lost cause. I filed my complaint last September 2025. After topping up my account balance on September 12, for which I received and successfully used a Speakout activation pin, information was extended by Speakout, pay as you go was being rolled into a monthly plan. The October 31 deadline for Sim card transition had to met, or your account balance would be forfeit to Speakout, and within the following seven days, your phone number would be disconnected. I did not agree to this required roll over, and had no intention of signing into a plan. The Speakout 800 customer support line went into the line being continually busy mode, and their website became totally inaccessible. Continuous daily attempts to contact Speakout became futile, so I filed a complaint with CCTS. My complaint was rejected months ago, with the CCTS agent advising, the WSP had fulfilled their obligations according to their terms of service, and there was no refund to be issued. I refused this decision, and now have another agent reviewing the proceedings. My gut feeling, it’s a lost cause. The Regulatory policy governing responsibility a WSP has to their consumer is very clear, in saying, the WSP cannot change the terms of service and contractual obligations #1 in mid term of a contract, and #2 without the explicit consent and agreement of the consumer. Speakout have done this across the board. CCTS have used our tax dollars to fund their agency, and have abandoned the very reason they were been created, to be the voice of the consumer. We cannot, under any circumstance, allow this consumer injustice go unpunished, absolute theft, in no uncertain terms. Just to say oh well, and allow 7Eleven and Speakout to take our money that paid for a service ad not receive that service, is not only against the law, with today’s economy, it’s inhuman.
Hi, This is an update to my previous post, detailing the CCTS initial investigation, and the next “supposedly elevated investigation” by a different agent, No long story here, this second CCTS investigator, issued her report to me in a CCTS phone call, on August 27, 2026, stating the same results as the first agent, practically word for word, advising the WSP had fulfilled their consumer obligation according to their terms of service etc. I asked how that could possibly happen, because I read the 2013-217 CRTC code, and outlined at a minimum, eight sections of the code, that Speak Out had violated. the agent ‘s response was, that I have three options which will be in an email they are sending me. Those options are no different than my first go round. The gist of this email is that, I accept or refuse their investigation result, or seek another method of resolve, and hire legal counsel. Referring to a comment from above, in regard to a class action lawsuit, appears to be the only form of consumer satisfaction, the users of this WSP will be able to do. I’m an older retired senior citizen on government pension, that doesn’t have a clue, as to how to go about starting a class action suit. Thee flip side of that coin is, how many people actually have the retained and required documentation, to back up their claim. I do, and sent copies of mine to CCTS, but they either can’t read, or some other strange reason do not understand, the codes and standards in use to protect the consumer.
My conclusion is, we have a toothless agency, funded by our tax dollars, supposedly put in place to protect the consumer, but that agency will not take a huge corporation to task, for fear of losing the tax dollars being paid by that corporation. If there is another valid reason that CCTS and the CRTC can offer, we the consumer, I’d love to hear it.
Have a great day!